Bio

Stephanie Bell

I’ve always had a passion for the arts. In school, I was always the girl who was off in her own world, doodling at the back of the class. It wasn’t until high school, where I was first able to practice photography and computer arts, that I realized I had a natural eye for it.

When the time came to choose a career and head off to college, it was a toss-up between graphic design and photography. My parents pushed me in the direction of computer arts, as it was the hot career choice of the time, so I enrolled in the graphic design program at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.

After graduating from college in 2002, I started my career by obtaining an in-house graphic design position at Sonic Unyon Records. In late 2005, I bought my first digital SLR camera and my love for photography was instantly rekindled. This infatuation grew quickly and I found myself reading as many photography books and websites as I could get my hands on and developed my craft by shooting live performances at various indie rock clubs in Hamilton. I then bought my first lighting kit, and spent some time honing my lighting skills and applying my years of Photoshop mastery to retouching, which enabled me to take my photographic creations to the next level.

At that point, my own entrepreneurial urge had become too strong to ignore, as had my restless desire to spend less time locked in an office and more time with my camera. So in September of 2007, I left my job at Sonic Unyon and dove into the freelance lifestyle, sharply putting my focus onto Emerging Design & Photography.